RPlog:Kidnapping Brandis
Suspicion is not something that comes easily to the nature of the young doctor from Corellia, but Brandis has had more than his fair share of brushes with misfortune lately. The message that was passed along to him seemed to indicate that one of his compatriots from his days in Talon Karrde's organization needed help. However, he's not quite as trusting as he used to be and so when he arrives at the appointed meeting place, it's with as much stealth as he is capable of mustering. He's wearing the drab tan garb that everyone on Tatooine with any common sense at all seems to favor to combat the harsh light from the twin suns, but when he moves, the hilt of a vibrorapier can be seen peeking out from beneath the length of cloak. His hood is pulled up, further obscuring his features as he takes a look around the market. The scorching Tatooine twin suns. Oh, how Danik hates them. He'd much rather be back on Ord Trasi than here. The sand is the worse part - it gets everywhere. No matter how times Danik vists this barren backwater, he'll never get use to it. It's only been a few days since his fateful trip to Ord Trasi - his encounter with the Leviathan and Terentak still fresh in his mind, and his rage at the fact that the Sith Tomb of his ancestor, Davin, was empty. Not to mention he lost his precious Sith Holocron. And Johanna got away. And he lost Etiel. So basically the trip to Ord Trasi was a huge, unmitigated disaster for the old Imperial war horse - but he would not let it get him down. He still has Darth Malign, after all. And he still has a war to win - and Jedi to kill. Like Brandis. That's why he's here, after all. A little message to Coruscant hopefully convinced the Jedi to come to Tatooine, where Danik confronted him so many months ago. He's looking through his electrobinoculars, two stormtroopers - dressed in civilian garb - standing by his side on a rooftop overlooking the market place, where, if Brandis followed the message, they would encounter the Jedi. Soon, hopefully. Ugh, this is hard - so many people, all dressed in the same disgusting clothing. How could they hope to find their target in all this? Danik should have chose a better location... something more remote. He sighs, and continues to look through his electrobinoculars. Come on, Brandis... come to Danik. Brandis has learned caution. He's had to, with as many folks as have tried to kill him, lately. His senses are stretched taut as he searches the market for his contact and things become more and more unlikely as the minutes stretch past. Come to think on it, he hasn't seen any of Karrde's people, not to mention there lingers the question of why he wasn't asked to meet in Rikh's Cafe, since it belongs to Karrde and is a common meeting ground. He frowns and holds up a wrist com, looking right and left, but not up before activating the message one more time. The picture is grainy, the content itself is eroded by static far too frequently for comfort. "....Finian. We need your medical expertise to help Karrde. He's been injured... has gone missing. Any assistance you could render...meet in the marketplace on ...tooine." he begins to wonder if the hooded figure meant Dantooine, as little luck as he's had spotting any of his former comrades. It finally clicks within Danik. The same feeling he experienced around Johanna - and similiar to the feeling he experienced around both Tyler and Tyy'sun, only lighter. Yes, he can sense Brandis - he's close, very close. Danik licks his lips and reaches out with his feelings, trying to zone in on Brandis. He continues to search with his electrobinoculars, until his eyes fall upon a man looking at his wrist, playing a holomessage from the com device. Suddenly the market place becomes darkens, and all the people walking by disappear - save for that one man. It's Brandis. Dropping his electrobinoculars to the floor, Danik looks over to his two bodyguards and nods his head. "We have our target. I'm going in alone - you two stay here and provide covering fire should I need it. Only if I need it." With that, Danik is off. He jumps from the rooftop as he unsheaths his vibrorapier, and is immediately pushing his way through a crowd of people, charging towards Brandis. Brandis has learned his lesson the hard way and so it is that he gets the overwhelming urge to turn around when Danik starts his approach. The young doctor and Jedi in training sees the rough looking man shoving his way past everyday shoppers and the ghost of recognition whispers in his ear. He's seen him before, now if he could only remember where... His eyes widen as the memory properly snaps into place and he realizes just how cleanly he'd been duped into coming here. Danik had seen him with Karrde before, but the last time Brandis saw Danik was aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer while he was being delivered to Vadim. His first instinct is to flee, but there is another more primal part of him that rises up within him, a vestige of anger at the treatment he'd received at Imperial hands finding a handy target in the approaching soldier. Instead of leaving when he had the chance, Brandis stands his ground and draws the vibrorapier at his belt, eliciting startled shrieks from a few matrons who were close enough to witness the action. Tatooine is no stranger to fights and a large area becomes rapidly cleared as the locals wisely get out of the way of whatever is about to go down. Fotrunately for Danik he doesn't have to do too much shoving to get to his target. Many of the people have already cleared out at first sight of danger, all too familiar with street fights on Tatooine and just how dangerous they can turn. Danik likes it this way - he has a far more open means of attack. And he takes it, just as Brandis equips his own vibrorapier. He makes a diagnol slice towards Brandis's abdomen, but at the last moment slides across the sandy surface, lowering his vibrorapier to take a slice at Brandis's legs. He lets the Force flow through him, taking Malign's training to good use and taking control of the Force, using it to help him guide his slice so it may find its mark. Then again, Brandis is a Jedi himself - and a far more experienced one, at that. But Danik does have one advantage: he's an expert swordsman, and he knows this all too well. Not to mention his two stormtroopers are now looking through F-31 laser sniper rifles, training their scopes on Brandis and ready to open fire at first sign of danger. Brandis may be a Jedi, but he certainly hasn't reached the level of skill that might get him out of this entirely. He hasn't even got his lightsaber finished, yet. Still, he gathers himself and does a backflip, avoiding the slash at his legs entirely as he twists around and counters with an uppercut meant to force Danik to fall back. "I really think you have me confused with someone else." he mentions coolly as he watches the other man warily. There is still a prickling sense of impending doom hovering in a pall around him, so he flicks his glance around the market, trying to determine the source of the threat. If it's not entirely Danik, he's deeper in trouble than he'd first suspected. Jedi and their superhuman agility. Danik is still too new to the Force to manage a great leap as the one Brandis performs to avoid his slice, and Danik is too slow to counter the uppercut. He takes it to the face, knocking the older man back a few feet. He may just have to use his stormtroopers after all. Danik raises his vibrorapier back up after he regains his bearings, and he stares at Brandis. "Mistaken you? Of course not... you're my target, Brandis. I'm Danik Kreldin, by the way. I'll be taking you prisoner now," he says, and he steps forward just a bit, as if ready to attack - instead, however, with his left hand, he taps his headset's communicator. It's the signal for the stormtroopers set up on the roof to open fire on Brandis, whose back was now exposed to their sniper rifles, and the stormtroopers are quick to open fire. Brandis traveled with the circus for a while, most of his skills were developed before he began training in the ways of the Force. Still, knowing that you're about to be sniped is a handy thing and his sense of danger sends him rolling frantically to the side to avoid being dropped with a multitude of stun bolts. Once he regains his feet, he searches for something to distract Danik with, to buy him some time to melt back into the crowd. He was right, this was nothing more than a trap from the outset. However, he doesn't have time to applaud his sense of self-preservation just yet. Instead, he makes a pulling motion and drops an awning over Kreldin, while looking for the nearest hiding place. Combat has never been his forte but he's not at the top of his game. He'd almost looked forward to a trip to Tatooine, as it would have meant a chance to recover from the past two weeks of attending the injured and dying brought on by the destruction of the New Republic garrison on Coruscant. "Why can't you people just leave me alone!" Rake watchs with a casual interest and drops a hand to his belt, Danik Kreldin. That is a well known name , the Helmet again shifts between the two and seems to consider the matter at length Stormtroopers. Can never seem to hit anything. Danik shakes his head as Brandis rolls out of the way, avoiding the stun blasts. Danik lunges forward to follow up on the diversion, but is stopped short by the awning that falls down upon him. He jumps to the side, rolling along the surface to avoid being crushed, and avoids it by a few inches. Couldn't anything be easy? He's quick to his feet, knowing Brandis would use the opportunity to intensify his attack, and starts taking a few steps backward to put some distance between himself and the Jedi. The two stormtroopers have jumped down from the roof themselves and begun making their way to assist Kreldin, but Danik has already begun to formulate a plan in his own mind. He has to distract Brandis and attack him while he's at his weakest - and when is a Jedi at his weakest? When protecting others, of course. He produces a fragmentation grenade from his utility pouch, primes it, and tosses it to the side - straight into the nearby window of a store that has grown crowded with people trying to avoid the fight outside. Let's see the Jedi save all them now - and when he tries to, Danik and his stormtroopers will be all over him. Not again. There should be a law against using the innocent against someone sworn to protect them. Or at least a rule that the selfish would /follow/ once in a while. Brandis grits his teeth and spins around just as Danik throws the frag grenade through the window, bearing witness to the betrayal. He leaps to the casement, trying to spot the grenade amidst the shrieking and running folk who are doing their best to get out of the way before the weapon explodes. There. A boot catches it and sends it spinning across the floor of the establishment, but within his line of sight. Another move of his hand sends the grenade sailing out the window past him, toward a fairly barren area of the marketplace. However, the act of saving the people inside means that his back is exposed to the men attacking him and he knows he doesn't have a lot of time to get back out of the way. Rake uses the fleeing crowd to cover his convergence on the battle, choosing to slide in behind the two Stormtroopers who are intent on assisting the Imperial. He uncoils his Neurolash and holds it as one might a garrot and with as casual a movment as possible, he slides up to loop it over the troopers head and when its securely placed triggers it. one hand falling free to avoid the flash of energy. Perfect. The Jedi takes the bait and leaves himself open to attack, and Danik does not hesitate. He's quick with his feet, not waiting for his two stormtrooper bodyguards to arrive, and is soon on Brandis with his vibrorapier - he makes a lunge with his sword at the back of the Jedi, hoping to impale the Jedi straight through his back. He does not notice that one of his stormtroopers has been taken surprise by Rake, too involved in his fight with Brandis to pay the being much mind. The other stormtrooper, however, is able to avoid the attack - and his response is swift, bringing the butt of his rifle down upon the head of Rake in an attempt to knock him out. The frag grenade explodes with a sharp bang as Brandis twists away from the window, trying to duck and cover his head at the same time as bits of shrapnel fill the mostly empty marketplace. The wise have already cleared out to avoid being hurt and thanks to Danik's demonstration that nobody is safe, even more folk are fleeing from the relative safety of the nearby buildings to avoid becoming a smear in the sand or worse. Brandis himself isn't quite agile enough to avoid the blade entirely, but he takes it with him as he drops like a stone, attempting to use his weight to pull the blade out of Danik's hand. The fact that he's been stabbed through the shoulder doesn't seem to register just yet, as deeply as he is absorbed in the battle. Danik doesn't seem effected by the flying shrapnel as the grenade explodes - he's too immersed in the fact that his blade has run cleanly through Brandis's shoulder. He puts on a wicked smile and tries to drive the blade out, only to find Brandis trying to pull the blade from his hand. He holds on as tight as he can, refusing to let go of his precious rapier. However, he catches sight of one of his stormtroopers - having finished knocking Rake over the head with his blaster - charging over, prepared to offer assistance to Kreldin. So, Kreldin lets go of his blade, allowing Brandis to pull it out. But, as Kreldin steps away, the stormtrooper moves in, his rifle set to stun as he aims down and fires a shot at Brandis. Brandis takes the blade and pulls it smoothly from his shoulder, now that he's freed it from Danik's grip. It hurts like the blazes, he'd never deny that if asked, but he hasn't got time to give in to pain as they start shooting at him again. He leaves a pool of blood behind as he pushes into a roll yet again, his reaction time is considerably slower, hampered as he is by the shoulder injury. He manages to avoid most of the shots fired by the stormtrooper, who seems to be under the impression that multiple shots will make up for lack of accuracy, but he's still caught square by one of them and it drops him to his knees as he struggles to shake off the effect. He's reduced to crawling in the sand, dazed and bleeding profusely from the wound Danik inflicted on him. Rake shrugs off the blow and rises to his knee, whipping the Neurolash over his head and snaps it at the legs of the dashing stormtrooper. The benefit of his style of weapon is entanglement. For a moment, Danik thought Brandis might actually avoid the stormtrooper's fire completely - and come at him with two blades. Oh, why did he let him keep the rapier? He begins fumbling around, prepared to produce one of his concealed daggers, but just as Brandis nearly reaches him he falls, hit by one stun blast, and lands a few feet from Danik. Danik begins to breathe heavily, but exercises some self-control and puts Johanna's words of advice to good use, not allowing himself to be overcome by his fear of the Jedi. He seems down and out now, though, and that's good enough for Kreldin, who steps over to Brandis and places his foot on the man's head. "Stay down, you filthy scum..." he says, looking over to see his two stormtroopers dealing with an unknown assailant. "Got some friends, I see." He rubs his foot into BRandis's head, but then steps off and pulls his blaster out of his holster. "Stop right there!" he shouts at Rake, leveling the blaster at the being. The other stormtrooper, who was first to fall to the neurolash, is now back on his feet and aiming his rifle at Rake, while the other is fumbling around with the neurolash. "You have no chance of getting out of here!" Brandis gasps as he's quite literally stomped into the sand, thanking whatever being guides his fate that sand is at least somewhat malleable, and gives beneath the maltreatment. While Danik is distracted with his erstwhile savior, Brandis struggles to throw off the effect of the stun bolt, his breath coming in ragged pants as he flops over onto his back, trying not to scream as sand and grit get into the slash in his tunic, and the torn flesh of his shoulder. If he can just make it to the nearby alley, perhaps he could mind trick Danik into losing track of him... Chuckles and snaps the whip back into a coil. "You were surrounded the moment you entered the city, this is the domain of the Hutt...Now we know your purpose." the voice crackles through the helmet. " A...offering of respect in credits will forgive the afrontery you have made." he lifts an armored gauntles. "Our interests here are for the Hutt alone, play nice and all will go without further incident." the deaths head helmet looks directly at Danik. "Or are you so confident that you would slight the Hutts in their own territory?" Hutts? Danik resists the urge to laugh aloud. Who does this fellow think he is? He steps forward, away from Brandis, though he does kick back some sand with his foot, hoping some gets in Brandis's face. He doesn't have much to fear from the Jedi at the moment - or so he thinks - and this particular fellow has certainly annoyed him. "Perhaps you don't know who I am. I am Danik Kreldin," he says, and with his ST-II still leveled upon Rake, he presses back on the trigger and sends a red bolt at the being. The two stormtroopers stand aside, having regained their composure, and prepare to follow up on Kreldin's attack in case he misses. No one messes with the Empire, and Danik is going to make sure this guy knows the penalties for doing so. Brandis will just have to wait a few more minutes. Brandis still has nightmares about the past two times he's been in Imperial custody. He was hoping not to have to endure a third, but the options are fast dwindling, even though he's mostly shaken off the effects of the one stun bolt that caught him. He's dazed and disoriented as he tries to get under cover in the alley. He never should have come here without backup. That much is clear now. And as his ties to Karrde's people have fallen by the wayside with his training as a Jedi taking up most of his time, he has nobody that he'd trust to help him. He doesn't even know how to reach Mayre, any more. It would be ever so much easier to hide if he weren't leaving a trail of blood behind him. Danik's shot finds its target, and the would-be rescuer of Brandis runs off wounded. Danik does not follow; he can't get too far from him, after all. He turns around to take a look at where Brandis should be - only to see the man was no longer on the ground, or anywhere in sight. Spewing an Old Corellian curse, he calls for his two stormtroopers to find him. "He couldn't have gotten far!" Danik shouts, rushing back to where he had left Brandis. He can still sense Brandis nearby; he feels dread and pain. That must be him... he scans around for his eyes, his control over the Force too loose to rely entirely on it. His eyes are still good companions, and they spot the trail of blood leading into the alley. So he follows after it, moving as fast as his feet can take him, and he spots the wounded form of Brandis trying to make an escape down the alley. "Give it up, Brandis!" Danik says, stopping in his track and aiming his ST-II on the man. He flicks the setting to stun, and presses back on the trigger, sending another blast at the Jedi. Brandis crumples to the ground when the blaster bolt takes him in the back of the head, down for the count. Whatever plans Danik has for him, it looks like they're going to proceed without any further hindrance. Danik watches as Brandis falls unconscious, the effects of two stun blasts and the sword stab finally overcoming the Jedi. Behind Danik the two stormtroopers finally catch up, but are too late to do anything; Danik simply walks forward and places a hand on Brandis's head after kneeling down. "Tough bastard..." he says, looking back to his troopers. "Well, take the body back to the ship. I want to get off of this planet as soon as possible." He's sweating like a pig, and he wants to get out of here before the locals decide to fight back. He could handle one person like Rake, but when he has twenty or more goons coming down on him, it might be a bit difficult. He picks up his rapier that Brandis was kindly holding on to, and secures it within his sheath. "Hurry it up." Danik begins proceeding back towards the starport. Kidnapping Brandis